FASHION AND CULTURE CHANEL in SENEGAL

The FRENCH BRAND made HISTORY by staging a FASHION SHOW as a thoughtful long-term CULTURAL EXCHANGE in one of AFRICA's most CREATIVE CITIES

The best street style on display was not found in one of the four cities that anchor Fashion Week; nor was it seen during the usual seasonal churn in March and September. Instead, it was at Chanel's Métiers d'art show, which took place in early December in Dakar, Senegal.

The brand flew in 165 clients and editors, but the audience also included more than 550 locals, including musicians, designers, stylists, and artists. And they were dressed: wrap dresses in purple and persimmon tones with matching head wraps, many of which were secured with Chanel logo brooches. One woman stacked her braids on her head, creating a crown nearly a foot high, and draped them with Chanel charms. Another wore a sleeveless macramé robe over a blue kimono embroidered with dragons. A guest in a beige robe and matching trousers had a quilted Caviar Jumbo bag in a coordinating beige slung over her shoulder.

Pharrell Williams, the longtime friend of the house (and now Louis Vuitton menswear creative director), was walking around in a joyful daze. When asked about the style on display, he uttered simply, "It's crazy."

"I think that the people here were very proud to show the best of Dakar and the best of fashion here in Senegal," says Olivia Marsaud, the director of Galerie Le Manège, one of the city's premier contemporary-art galleries, who has spent the past decade enmeshed in Dakar's cultural scene. "In Senegal, you dress yourself for every small event in your life. Even to go [to the beach], you are very well dressed, and it's very important."

"It's part of the culture," says Nix, a Senegalese rapper who performed at a welcome dinner the evening before the show, about fashion's role in the city. "People love to dress. People love colors. They love to match colors, fabrics, and everything. Dakar has this essence when it comes to fashion."